More Fun to Explore With a Friend, Part I

Posted on Thu 19th Apr, 2018 @ 11:28pm by Captain Ranulf MacBain

1,147 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Brushfires
Location: Tivoli Gardens, Deck 1554
Timeline: MD 7, 1135

Ranulf worked out that night, went over some reports till he was sleepy and he made his morning five mile run. Checked with his maintenance people and the morning CAP. With everything looking good, he went home and changed into dress jeans and a tan turtle neck shirt.

He had checked his route that morning when he got up, and on his way, he stopped and bought a box of Bajoran chocolates. If there was a next time, he would buy flowers. He had to stop by Flavia's shop today and let her know how things worked out anyway. He reached the dock at 1135, about twenty-five minutes early. It was intentional, as he wanted to see what was here a little before she arrived, but the main reason was he had a feeling she would be here early and he did not want to make her wait.

After the short breakfast shift at Orchids & Jazz, Jenna had a lazy morning, pampering herself and reading for a while before dressing in her favorite jeans and a turquoise peasant blouse. A last minute addition was a turquoise and coral bangle she'd bought just before leaving earth to explore the galaxy with Jade Lantz. She smiled fondly at the memory of the sidewalk vendor, dressed in the long-ago native attire of her people, and gave the bangle one twirl around her wrist.

Checking the clock showed her that it was time to see what Tivoli Gardens had to offer her this afternoon. At about 1145, she strolled down from the River Walk Shops to the Steamboat Paddle Wheel Company, and saw that the captain was waiting for her, leaning on the railing. Captain had a certain cachet that she liked. It indicated someone who was going somewhere, making a serious name for himself. Or herself, either way.

She smiled as she approached him. "Not only on time, but early," she said, holding out her hand in greeting.

Ranulf did not need to check the time as he was sure he had been here himself only about ten minutes if that. "As are you Jenna." He faced her offering her the box of chocolates "I hope you like chocolate?"

Jenna took the box, noticing it was her favorite, dark chocolate. "Truffles, yum. Anyone who doesn't like chocolate isn't a friend of mine. Thank you!"

His smile grew. "You are early as well. I admit I suspected you would be and did not want to make you wait."

"Chronic bad habit. I think it came from living in a family who never got anywhere on time!" She leaned on the railing next to him and took a deep breath. "I can almost believe I am on a planet when I come here. I love it down here. Did you know Jade was behind the idea of building these decks?"

Ranulf shook his head "I never heard about any of this. I was on the Bergen, and we were on the other side of the galaxy near the Breen border. The ship returned for some repairs and refit. I was given orders to report here. The patrol ship I hitched a ride on was new to the sector and was on their way to begin their first patrol. You are one of the few people I have met who are familiar with the base. Half my pilots and techs arrived here after me. Between organizing, training, and flying patrols I have been busy. I run twice a day when time allows, but this is my first time down here. It is rather awesome to behold." He looked at Jenna till he caught her eyes, "Thank you, this is really to amazing to view alone."

"I was here during the construction, and it's still amazing to me." Clark looked out over the river. "There are actually fish in there, you know. There's a fish hatchery on deck 1550 I've never visited, but they keep the river stocked for those who like to fish. We have an entire wildlife park one deck up, and 8 different Federation species are being sheltered and increasing populations here for introduction back on their home worlds.

"And this place isn't just for looks, either. Miss Lantz got engineers to figure out how to use all this for water aeration and reclamation, air cleansing and refreshing, and food growth, among other things." Jenna stopped and looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I do get excited about everything that went into this place, and all the good it does. It is definitely like no other starbase in the Federation."

Changing topics, she asked, "So, want to take a ride on Walt or Willie? I think that," she pointed at a small steam paddle wheeler coming to the dock, "might be Walt."

"Sounds like fun, do they sell lunch aboard?" He laughed, "If not that is fine. We can get lunch after. I was on a boat like that on Trill once, and they had a sort of dinner theater thing going. Audience participation and all." He looked past Jenna at the river boat, "This is a wet river in space? I honestly never expected to see anything like this, not ever in my wildest dreams."

"Well, if it causes too much anxiety, think of it as water reclamation for the entire base," Jenna said. "I don't think they serve much of anything on board, as it's rather small. Now the barges the Ferengi run on Deck 1551 do serve some kind of meals, but I've never taken them, so I can't promise what. However, there's the Falls River Inn up that way," she gestured to the left, "or the Sidewalk Café in the River Walk shops in the village."

They watched while the paddle boat docked and about two dozen people lined up at the exit ramp. Then Jenna asked, "Shall we get on board? It does take a ticket bought with money, because almost everything down here is private enterprise. Did I mention that last night?"

"I have most of eleven years pay in my account, I never spent very much. So I think I can afford to buy us a couple tickets, lunch, and maybe a few other things that catch our eye." He spotted the ticket counter and waved, "Want to walk along, or wait here while I get the tickets?"

"I'll wait right here," Jenna decided. She watched him walk away and then turned to look at the river and the beautiful day. You're getting as bad as the people who live down here, Missy. This is all artificial, and don't you forget it! She opened the box of chocolates, tossing the wrapping into a convenient recycler. Taking off the lid, she chose one from right in the middle of the box. She savored the dark chocolate mixed with orange cream and waited for the pilot to return.

 

RSS Feed